Sweet Sevilla

  Seville, Spain
Sunday, March 2, 2008

The flight to Spain seemed really quick and the scenery was beautiful. We arrived in Malaga on February 27 at about 1:00 p.m. and then took the public bus to the Bus station and then a long distance bus to Sevilla. We arrived at 3:30 and took a taxi to the Hostal Catedral, a comfy spot in beautiful bario Santa Cruz. The room was small but it was in a great area with not too much street noise. 

Church in Santa Cruz

So on Wednesday night we decided to walk around and get aclimatized. We happened upon a beautiful procession near a chirch in Santa Cruz. Several men were carrying a large statue of Jesus on a donkey. It was amazing to see so many people in the square watching. Afterwards, we went for a cafe con leche and churros (my new favorite snack). 

Orange trees beside Real Alcazar

On Thursday we explored and walked and took in the sun. It was glorious to be walking around in a short sleeve shirt in February. I was so surprised to see that all of the trees in the streets had oranges hanging from them. Seville has charming cobblestone streets, cafes and bars with terrazas and amazing cathedrals and historical buildings. I feel like I´ve stepped back in time walking down some of the streets, but yet everything feels modern and trendy at the same time. We love this city a lot - it is one of the most beautiful we have ever seen. 

We are quite determined to live in Seville (if not right away, then eventually). I can´t explain the wonder of this place - it comes alive at night and people flock to the streets to eat tapas, enjoy drinks and walk hand in hand. Muy romantico...

Plaza de España 2

On Friday we did a lot less exploring, but had no less of an adventure. We decided to take a stab at obtaining our NIE numbers (Numero Indentificacion de Extranjeros). Everyone who wants to work in Spain needs one - it is like the SIN number in Canada. So we found the office at the Plaza de España and queued up for 3 hours. Then once inside we took a number and waited another hour. Then we went into an office, showed our passports and magically got an NIE number. They told us to go to the bank and pay €6 and then return. By 1:30 p.m. we had certificates in hand. Woooohooo. Hurdle number one of new life - check! For the rest of the day we enjoyed Seville and went for a beer that evening to celebrate.

Cafes by the river in Triana

On March 1 we walked to the river and over the bridge to Triana to check out the apartment that the Spaish school rents out to students. We´ll stay there a month while we go to classes at LINC and then... who knows. In the afternoon we walked to La Macarena neighbourhood and went to the Museo de Bellas artes. I´m not a huge fan of historical paintings, but these were lovely. The works here are really spectacular.

The next day we moved into the apartment and met a couple of others that are living there this week. There are four rooms, a common living room, kitchen and bathroom. Its a good place to start and meet some new people anyway. This marks the end of the tourist phase. Next we´re in ´learning spanish´ and job search phase. Ughhh. One thing at a time Andy tells me. Our next hurdles will be opening a bank account and getting a mobile phone. Not to mention speaking the language and finding gainful employment. Poco a poco as they say in Spain...